Rewards Zone

CBLDF is excited to launch a new programin cooperation with our Retail Member Stores: the CBLDF COMICS CODE VARIANT! These variant covers of today’s hottest books will include the infamous Comics Co...

EVERY RULE OF THE COMIC CODE WILL BE BROKEN IN THESE 32 PAGES. To say thanks for the assured mutual destruction, 20% of all profits will be donated to the CBLDF. Help support an amazing cause and be s...

Vice President to Meet with Entertainment Execs About “Culture of Violence”

In the midst of talks regarding gun control, the government has taken steps to address a “culture of violence” that many have blamed for the recent spate of gun violence. According to an article in Variety, Vice President Joe Biden has invited the leaders of various entertainment and video game businesses to Washington DC to address concerns over violent media.

Variety reports on the meetings with Vice President Biden, making predictions about who could be in attendance:

The White House hasn’t released a list of industry reps who will be present, but it’s expected to include the heads of key trade associations, including Mike Gallagher from the Entertainment Software Assn., Gordon Smith from the National Assn. of Broadcasters and Michael Powell from the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn., as well as reps from the independent film community.

While Variety reports that it is unclear whether any action will be taken as a result of the meeting, it does call up the specter of the 1954 Senate hearings that led to the self-censorship of comics under the Comics Code Authority. The Comics Code arose under the auspices of fallacious pseudoscientific evidence, which falsely blamed comic books for violent crime. The same sort of inaccurate evidence is currently being used to attack the video game industry. The meetings with Vice President Biden likely will not carry the same vitriol or the same sense of pending governmental intervention as the 1954 Senate hearings, but they may well result in the same type of industry-wide self-censorship that could stifle constitutionally-protected creative expression.

For more on Vice President Biden’s meetings with entertainment industry executives, visit Variety here.